Posted by: drluggo (drluggo@earthlink.net) on Wed Nov 22 06:56:05 2006

EXACTLY WHAT I AM TRYING TO DO!!!! This web site teaches what I believe to be a very sound style of hitting with rotational mechanics. The problem with it is that everybody on it gets way to technical in their descriptions of things. I am an engineer and I understand the concepts of torque, etc. however sometimes a picture or a video clip is the best reference for all of us to talk from.

The last time I looked there are not many pictures of little leaguers available on the internet, so we use Albert Pujols and other major leaguers AS A POINT OF REFEERENCE so that we can understand what others are saying and try and translate into something a child would understand.

I am sure that most would agree that "squish the bug" means more to a child than "make sure you generate the proper torque."

> People,
> For crying out loud, forget Albert Pujols per se. On that website there are ample examples of getting that back hip around. Pujols does it one way, Bonds does it another way. Look at each clip and tell me what you see that ALL MLB batters share in common.....YUP ROTATIONAL MECHANICS in their swing. That is to say the CORE principles are present...hips lead, etc, etc.
> As it is in everything....solid technique mixed in personal STYLE.
> When you look at the stance of most batters....they are all different.
> At the moment their swing initiates, most have the power v on the top of their strike zone. Some pre-load, some don't.
> Most of us are not MLB players here, so let's not get caught up in long debates about squish the bug vs. 90 degree rear leg bend. The point is, let us start teaching the Little league'ers the correct mechanics in generating the energy needed for a run producing hit.
> If squishing the bug doesn't work, try something else. The point is rotate, let the bigger muscles lead. Outside pitches, you should not change your swing, just let the ball get deeper and send it to opposite field.